


Reprieve

by thegreatandpowerfultoaster



Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Genre: Awkwardness, Dancing, F/M, I Ship It, Slow Dancing, so there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 18:51:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16708072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatandpowerfultoaster/pseuds/thegreatandpowerfultoaster
Summary: She makes him nervous.





	Reprieve

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure I'm 100% happy with this, but take it anyways.

Bao-Dur isn't sure what to think of this. On one hand, they're in the middle of a war, small victory or no. They can afford to be knocked off their game. In the other hand, a giant party is great for the morale of the entire ship.

And or the first time in his life he gets to see General Surana - his Commanding Officer, should he even be looking at her? - In a dress of all things.

And he sort of likes it, and that almost makes the impeding death worth it. Maybe not, but she looks like she's having a good time at least, that's an improvement from lately. Yes, that makes it worth it. She deserves a day free of the constant death that surrounds her small ray of light.

And of course, Bao-Dur is completely content to watch the festivities from the corner, with his remote floating and buzzing over his sholder. 

But then Mara catches his eye, and somehow manages to wave with her giant, flowing sleeves that seem to him like they'd weigh an unreasonable amount. There's no pretending that he wasn't looking at her, because he was and there's no use in hiding anything from General Mara Surana. 

It takes her a while to get to him through the crowds, and that only leaves him more time to worry. What is she going to say? Her knows it's not worth worrying about, but the less rational part of him sees her not as a friend, but as a  _girl_  in a dress, a  _pretty dress_ , coming to talk to  _him_.

And he wishes that didn't stress him out as much as it did. But like a lot of things that worry him, all he can do is wring his hands and fuss over it until she actually kinda her way over to his corner.

And smiles. She's so bright, but not in a blinding way. She's like a sunset you want to take a picture of to keep forever.

 "You're not exactly the party type, Bao-Dur, are you?" He shakes his head and tells her that  _No, General he is not_ , all the while trying to keep his eyes off the places where the fabric of her outfit gathers. For a moment he wonders why armor can't do that, but it's a question easily answered. No one would be able to fight in something that gathered like that.

 "I'm not either," she says, not bothering to correct the 'General' part like usual. She could be fooled him, just the way she'd walked through the crowd made her seem right at home in this setting. "Do you want company?"

 Her nods. "I'd like that, General."

 "Mara. Just Mara, Bao." She looks into the crowd for a momeny, then reaches down to take his hand. "Let's go dance," she says.

His brain is left to catch up with the request as she drags him along, through the very large crowd and too the makeshift dancefloor. And then her arms are around his neck and somehow - Maker, dear, dear Maker - his hands are on her waist and he's saying, "I don't dance."

 She smiles again. "Me neither, Bao. But I think we're doing alright," with a quick glance over his sholder, she adds, "Better than Revan and Alek, somehow though if it makes you feel better."

And then he laughs, snorts really trying to imagine those two dancing each other, tiny Revan and tall Jedi Malek, and that gets her laughing, and smiling even more. The way they're swaying is nearly intuitive, and he's glad it doesn't take up all his brainpower, or else he might have missed the quiet, "You're so cute," under her giggling.

Which leaves him flushing, which she catches into quickly and figures he's heard her, so she's flushing too. They're both such messes. "S-Sorry," he says.

"Why are  _you_  apologizing? I'm the one being weird, and saying things that make you uncomfortable."

"I-I dunno. It's not that...It isn't that you made me uncomfortable it's just, well...I guess I've never heard anyone call me that before," Its easy enough to brush it off as that, not that he likes her as much more than a General, or even a friend but they're in the middle of a war - and even if they weren't she never fails to make him nervous.

 "Well, uh..." She shoots another glance behind him, and then right at him. "you are, Bao. Thanks for...thanks for dancing with me. "

 "Anytime," he says because maybe the whole dancing thing isn't as bad as he thought it was. "Not that I think we'll get another chance anytime soon."

She shrugs. " I dunno, I think this should be a regular thing, I'll have to tell Revan that. "

He wants to tell her, please no, because this is too much stress for him to deal with regularly. It's funny. Battles he can handle, broken droids he can most definitely handle. This he can not. the song ends rather abruptly, and she drags him off and yawns. 

"I think I'll call it a night. See you in the morning?"

He nods, and it seems like she's gone nearly as fast as he'd noticed her there, and he's left speechless, standing in the middle of the room. It is definitely time to go, before someone - Maker forbid, someone important - catches him here, his jaw nearly on the floor. 


End file.
